Notes:Siddhant Banthia from Pune has won the Indian leg of the junior French Open wild card tournament in New Delhi on April 27, 2018. He beat reigning Under-16 national champion Mann Maulik Shah 6-4, 2-6, 7-6. The girls event was won by Rashmikaa S Bhamidipaty, who defeated Tanisha Kashyap 6-4, 6-4. Banthia will now compete with winners from China and Brazil in the final Qualifier to get an entry into the main draw of the junior French Open.

2. Under the ‘Adopt a Heritage’ project, which corporate house has signed MoU to maintain historic site “Red Fort”?

Notes:The Dalmia Bharat Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union Tourism Ministry to take up Red Fort (Delhi) and Gandikota Fort (Andhra Pradesh) under the ‘Adopt a Heritage’ project. By signing the contract, Dalmia Bharat has become the first corporate to be part of the initiative. It will look after the operations and the maintenance of these heritage sites for the next five years. The ‘Adopt a Heritage’ project is a unique endeavour by the Ministry of Tourism, which envisions in developing monuments, heritage and tourist sites across India to enhance their tourism potential and cultural importance. The adoption will allow the corporate to construct, landscape, illuminate and maintain activities related to provision and development of tourist amenities. It will also include various basic and advanced amenities such as public conveniences, clean drinking water, and cleanliness of the monument among others. The group will also introduce other key amenities for the visitors like App based Multi lingual Audio-Guide, easy accessibility to the differently-abled visitors.

Notes:The 2nd edition of Shirui Lily Festival 2018 has recently concluded at Ukhrul district in Manipur on April 28, 2018. The festival is sponsored by the Department of Tourism, Government of Manipur to spread awareness about conservation of the endangered Shirui Lily and promote the district of Ukhrul as a tourist destination in Manipur. The festival is also being supported by NEC and aims to promote afforestation and sustainable tourism efforts in the state.

4. Which Indian shooter has made brand ambassador for Haryana’s Measles and Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign?

Notes:The Haryana government has appointed international shooter Gauri Sheoran as brand ambassador for its Measles and Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign. The decision was announced by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at the launch of MR vaccination campaign. Under the campaign, around 80 lakh children — in the age group of nine months to 15 years — would be vaccinated. The chief minister also flagged off 11 medical mobile units for the campaign. Through this campaign, the government proposes to eliminate measles and control rubella in the country by year 2020.

5. The Government of India (GoI) has recently entered into a legal agreement with which international organisation on biotech?

[A] World Bank[B] IMF[C] Asian Development Bank (ADB)[D] New Development Bank (NDB)

Notes:The Government of India (GoI) has entered into a legal agreement with the World Bank for a flexible financing arrangement to accelerate research towards early development for biopharmaceuticals. A Statement issued by the government said the mission has been approved at a cost of 250 million dollars for five years with 50 per cent funding through the World Bank Loan. The aim is to make India a hub for design and development of novel, affordable and effective biopharmaceutical products. The agreement was executed between the project implementing agency, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, a PSU of Department of Biotechnology, Department of Economic Affairs Ministry of Finance and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) on behalf of World Bank.

6. Who has become the India’s longest serving Chief Minister of India?

Notes:On April 29, Pawan Chamling has created history by becoming the longest serving chief minister in India. He surpassed the record of former communist ruler of West Bengal, Late Jyoti Basu. Chamling became the chief minister of Sikkim on 12th December 1994 and has ruled the tiny Himalayan state ever since. He is also the president of Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF). Chamling, who also writes poetry, joined politics in 1973 and was elected to the Sikkim assembly for the first time in 1985. The assembly elections will be held in Sikkim in 2019.

7. Which Indian city hosted the Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)?

Notes:The Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was held in New Delhi on April 24, 2018 to build the capacity of the Asia-Pacific Region to monitor and report on land degradation. The workshop was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and UNCCD Secretariat. The 4-day workshop trained the participants in the use of an innovative land degradation monitoring tool by Conservation International, for the reporting process of UNCCD. The participants included delegates from about 40 Asia Pacific countries, as well as representatives from 12 Indian states affected by land degradation, scientists and researchers from scientific institutions of national importance and line-Ministries. The UNCCD is the only legally binding international agreement on land issues. The convention promotes good land stewardship.

Notes:Sitanshu Yashaschandra, the Gujarati poet, playwright and academic, has been selected for the 2017 Saraswati Samman for his collection of verses titled ‘Vakhar’. The award is presented by the KK Birla Foundation, a literary and cultural organisation that also gives the Vyas Samman for Hindi and Bihari Puraskar for Hindi and Rajasthani writers of Rajasthan. It is the highest recognition in the field of Indian literature in the country and carries a citation, a plaque and award money of Rs 15 lakh.

9. NDMA has conducted its first-ever Mock Exercise on Bio-Disasters at which city?

Notes:The NDMA has conducted its first-ever mock exercise on Bio-Disasters at the Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport in Patna, Bihar. The full-scale Biological Management Emergency exercise was based on a suspected Ebola outbreak scenario. The aim of the 5-day training programme is to enhance the preparedness of Airport Emergency Handlers (AEHs) to respond to CBRN emergencies at the airports. The CBRN emergencies pertain to threats emanating due to Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear material. It was conducted in collaboration with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS).

Notes:The Sipat Super Thermal Power Station is located at Sipat in Bilaspur district, Chhattisgarh. The power plant, which is also known as Rajiv Gandhi Super Thermal Power Station, is one of the coal based power plants of NTPC. The coal for the power plant is sourced from Dipika Mines of South Eastern Coalfields Limited. The project has an installed capacity of 2980 MW consisting of two stages, stage one which got commissioned late was of 3 units of 660 MW each involving super-critical boilers technology and stage two consisted of 2 units of 500 MW each.